The incidence of vascular aneurysms is increasing due to improved longevity of the population as well as improvements in the methods of diagnosing for these afflictions. Hertzer recently reported in Vascular Surgery that approximately 3% of the general population may be afflicted with aortic aneurysms. Further, specific incidence of aortic aneurysm correlates to a great degree with related risk factors. For instance, approximately 53% of all patients demonstrating femoral or popliteal aneurysms also were indicated to have aortic aneurysms. The prevalence of aneurysms increase rapidly after 55 years of age. Akkerselijk et al reported a AAA rate of 11.4% in men over 60.
Health care costs for the repair of aneurysms and dissections of the aorta, iliac, femoral and popliteal arteries is presently assumed to be in the vicinity of 150-200 million dollars annually and is rising at a significant level due to greater ability to diagnose and treat these afflictions, as well as because of the aging of the general population.
The repair of aneurysms and dissections found in the cardiovascular tree has to a great degree reflected the numerous advancements occurring in the fields of surgery, anesthetics and bio-devices. Since the 1950's successful repair of aneurysms has been possible through surgical treatment and to the present day standard treatment for aneurysms, dissection and septal defects includes surgical intervention typically resulting in the implant of a prosthesis to replace the dissected diseased tissue or span the gap of a septal defect. There are several prosthetic devices available for the repair of these anomalies. However, in spite of the relatively high degree of success being indicated by the surgical repair of vascular aneurysms (actuarial rates for the repair of aortic aneurysms indicate less than 3% morbidity being associated with this procedure) there exists numerous reasons for improvement of the processes used. For example, there is the need to further minimize trauma to the patients. There is also the need to minimize hospitalization time. There is a need to minimize expense associated with the repair procedure.